1999 American Le Mans Series Grand Prix of Las Vegas
Date: Sunday November 7, 1999
Changes to the starting order for the American Le Mans Series Grand Prix
of Las Vegas: ...

Changes to the starting order for the American Le Mans Series Grand Prix
of Las Vegas: #18-P will not start, #55-GTS moves to the back of the GTS
field (27th position) for changing tires, #03-GT moves to the back of the
field after changing an engine overnight and changing all four tires.

ALMS starting lineup changes: The #03-GT car has elected not to change
tires, and since changing engines is allowed, they will start in their
originally qualified 32nd position. The #81-GT car is changing drivers,
Hill will start, Valentinetti will drive later. The car remains in the
last starting position.

Sara Senske (about the on-track incident) "Well, I got impatient and I
suffered the consequences. I feel bad about that one." (about the race) "I
feel good about the race. Fighting back up and the race with Milka, that
was fun."

Niki Ruman (about the start) "It was close but it was a clean start. I
think the new 'no passing before the start/finish line' rule is a great
rule. It was a big help." (about her season-high finish of fifth) "Audrey
and I had a good little duel at the beginning. I was totally bummed for
(my sister) Amy. She was running so strong."

Lyn St. James, Executive Director of the WGGTS (about the season) " I
think we put on six great races. Some of them weren't so great. It was
pretty frustrating because there is no shortcut for experience. We are
trying to establish a credibility that these are real race car drivers.
There is a lot of talent in this field. There is already some interest for
several drivers to move into other series and that was the goal.

Jeff (Purner, director of operations for the WGGTS) and his crew did a
great job. This is a 20-car race team and they should be commended for
doing this in the first year. We have only had three mechanical problems
all year. They really deserve a lot of credit."

ALMS Grand Prix of Las Vegas:
At 12:00 green flag
At 12:01, first lap, car #56-GTS spun, stopped and continued
At 12:01, at the end of the first lap, #1-P, #2-P and #43-P cross the line
first.
At 12:06, car #2-P passes the #1-P car taking the leading.
At 12:08, car #0-P black flagged for not giving enough room to GT and GTS
cars when passing. This is a warning flag only.
At 12:13, car #38-P into the pits with a gearbox temperature problem,
Fueled and returned to the track.
At 12:17, car #0-P into the pits, takes on fuel, and the crew is working
on the front of the car, the driver is out of the car.
At 12:20, #38-P started to slide in turn 9, taking the #3-GTS car off the
track. Car #38-P stops with front end damage, driver is out of the car
making repairs, back in the car, lights are on and returns to the race.
At 12:21, car #0-P out of the race with overheating problems.
At 12:23, the #16-P takes third place as the #43-P slides wide entering a
turn.
At 12:23, car #38-P into the pits, new front end, still reporting gearbox
problems.
At 12:28, car #83-GTS into the pits, fuel and tires, no driver change.
At 12:30, car #20-P off course and stopped. Driver out of the car. The
driver reports the car just quit, no power, no explanation.
At 12:30, top three in class: #2-P, #1-P, #75-P (26 laps); #92-GTS,
#91-GTS, #3-GTS (24 laps); #23-GT, #25-GT, #02-GT (23 laps)
At 12:33, car #55-GTS has a cone stuck above the right front wheel.
At 12:34, car #3-GTS into the pits, fuel, tires, no driver change.
At 12:35, car #16-P into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change to EFR.
At 12:35, car #29-P into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change to Trenery.
At 12:35, car #38-P into the pits, driver out of the car.
At 12:36, car #76-GT off course a turn 10, stopped in the tire barriers,
restarted and continued.
At 12:40, car #76-GT into the pits, fuel, tires, taped the hood and left
rear, and driver change to Doolin.
At 12:42, car #61-GTS, into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change to
Sobero.
At 12:45, car #12-P into the pits, fuel only.
At 12:45, car #36-P into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change: Matthews.
At 12:46, car #28-P into the pits, car stopped with gearbox problems,
pushed behind the wall.
At 12:48, car #27-P into the pits, fuel only.
At 12:49, car #11-P into the pits, fuel only.
At 12:49, car #02-GT, pulled off course with gearbox problems.
At 12:51, car #2-P into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change to O'Connell,
car #1-P takes the lead.
At 12:51, car #55-GTS into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change
Borcheller.
At 12:51, car #76-GT, pushed behind the wall with clutch problems and
contact damage.
At 12:52, car #92-GTS into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change to Archer.
At 12:53, car #81-GT into the pits, fuel, driver change Hiskey.
At 12:53, car #83-GTS into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Brown.
At 12:55, car #1-P into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Bernard, car
#43-P takes the lead.
At 12:55, car #42-P into the pits, fuel, tires, no driver change.
At 12:56, car #91-P into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Donohue.
At 12:57, car #03-GT into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Reiser.

Unofficially, Olivier Beretta is the GTS champion after driving the
minimum 50 minutes and clinching at least eighth place.
At 12:59, car #03-GT drove into the side of the #27-P car at pit entry,
the #27-P into wall, car damaged, and driver out of the car.
At 1:00 full course black flag.
At 1:00, top three in class: #2-P, #43-P, #1-P (50 laps); #08-GTS, #3-GTS,
#92-GTS (46 laps); #23-GT, #25-GT, #6-GT (45 laps)
At 1:00, car #16-P into the pits, fuel, right side tires only, no driver
change.
At 1:02, car #03-GT into the pits, repairing front end damage.
At 1:01, car #6-GT into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change van Overbeek.
At 1:01, car #25-GT into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Hofer.
At 1:02, car #3-GTS into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Kneifel.
At 1:04, car #17-GT into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Conte.
At 1:04, car #12-P into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Caffi.
At 1:05, car #76-GT returned to the tracks.
At 1:06, car #11-P into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Angelelelli
At 1:06, car #56-GTS into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Collins.
At 1:09, car #08-GTS into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Aarle.
At 1:12, car #7-GT into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Brian
Cunningham.
At 1:14, car #83-GTS returned to the track.
At 1;14, car #10-GT into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Said.
At 1:15, car #22-GT into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Havens.
At 1:15, car #23-GT into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Wagner.
At 1:15, car #16-P into the pits, fuel only.
At 1:16, Green Flag.
At 1:24, car #53-GT into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change White.
At 1:30, top three in class: #2-P, #42-P, #1-P; #92-GTS (71 laps),
#91-GTS, #3-GTS (67, 66, 66 laps); #7-GT, #25-GT, #22-GT (65 laps).
At 1:31, car #48-GT into the pits, fuel only, driver change Buckler.
At 1:34, car #83-GTS into the pits, worked on suspension, driver change
Buttiero.
At 1:35, car #29-P into the pits, fuel only, driver change Trenery.
At 1:37, car #36-P into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Johansson.
At 1:38, car #61-GTS into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Konrad.
At 1:41, car #81-GTS behind the wall, out of the race.
At 1:45, #12-P spins in turn 1 almost collecting the #11-P team car. In a
separate incident, the #1-P car tried to go under the #22-GT car entering
turn 1. The faster #1-P hit the right side of the #22 car, sending both
cars spinning, damaging and flattening the right rear wheel of the #1-P
car.

Quick Quotes:
David Brabham (#1-P Panoz LMP-1 Roadster S/Ford)"Everything's running
pretty good. Jan got by me when I got caught up by traffic. I really
didn't worry about him becase we aren't racing them for the championship.
I just tried to keep the gap in front of me and the gap behind me. The
Michelin tires are working really well."

Didier Theys (#27-P Ferrari 333 SP) "A Porsche was exiting the pits too
fast and he went into Turn 1 too fast. He started to spin because he was
too fast and I t-boned him. He sandwiched me between the car and the
wall."

Ron Johnson (#55-GTS Saleen SR) "There's a lot of marbles off the line. We
were having problems with our car so we weren't able to run the pace. We
were running through those marbles a lot to let the other cars by, so that
didn't help our sitation."

Craig Stanton (#03-GT Porsche 911 RSR) "The problem's with the
aerodynamics because the left front nose is damaged. We may have a little
bit of an oversteer, but I don't see any other problems than that and the
aerodynamics."

Ron Fellows (#3-GTS Fellows/Kneifel Chevrolet Corvette C5-R) "It's very
busy out there, and that makes traffic a bit of a nightmare. We had about
20 laps before we got hit by a P car. We're getting there."

Joel Reiser (#03-GT Porsche 911 RSR) "I hit some oil coming right out of
pit lane. I'm not sure who left it there, but I swapped lanes immediately.
I'm really sorry for the Ferrari guys. Didier cut and hit the wall, or I
hit him, I'm not really sure. But I'm really, really sorry for the Ferrari
guys."

Dirk Muller (#23-GT Porsche 911 GT3 R) "The race is over for me now, and
it was a terrific race. I ran the first 10 laps at 90 seconds and then
slowed down a bit to save the tires. The weather is cool, the car is
perfect, and I really enjoyed it."

At 1:46, car #16-P into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Weaver.
At 1:46, car #1-P into the pits, fuel, tires, no driver change.
At 1:46, car #81-GT into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change
Valentinetti, apparently not out of the race.
At 1:46, car #15-P into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Sutherland.
At 1:49, car #22-GT into the pits, fuel, tires, flat left front, no driver
change.
At 1:50, car #43-P into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Auberlen.
At 1:51, car #03-GT into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Willingham.
At 1:53, car #42-P into the pits, fuel, right side tires, driver change
Soper.
At 1:55, car #92-GTS into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Wendlinger.
At 1:57, car #75-P into the pits, fuel, tires, flat tire, driver change
Gounon.
At 1:59, car #25-GT into the pits, fuel, tires, problems with water
temperatures and 6th gear, driver change Riccitelli.
At 2:00, top three positions in class: #2-P, #42-P, #43-P (93, 92, 91
laps); #91-GTS, #92-GTS, #3-GTS (85 laps); #23-GT, #7-GT, #10-GT (84, 83,
82 laps)
At 2:00, car #91-GTS into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Beretta.
At 2:00, car #29-P running slow on course.
At 2:00, car #12-P into the pits, fuel only.
At 2:00, car #2-P into the pits, right side tires only, fuel, driver
change Magnussen.
At 2:02, car #76-GT back from behind the wall, rejoining the race.
At 2:02, car #29-P reported out of the race with gearbox problems.
At 2:04, car #11-P into the pits, fuel only.
At 2:06, car #3-GTS into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Fellows.
At 2:12, car #6-GT into the pits, fuel, tires, no driver change, should be
last stop.
At 2:13, car #08-GTS into the pits, fuel, tires, driver change Hurtgen.
At 2:14, car #16-P into the pits, fuel only, no driver change.
At 2:23, car #56-GTS into the pits, fuel only.
At 2:24, car #55-GTS into the pits, fuel and tires, no driver change.
At 2:24, car #36-P into the pits, fuel only.
At 2:28, car #25-GT into the pits, added water for overheating.
At 2:28, car #2-P into the pits, tire problem, tire change only.
At 2:28, car #1-P into the pits, right front wheel is smoking, driver out
of the car, cowling off, apparent engine failure. Car #42-P takes the
lead, followed by the #43-P team car.

Eric Bernard (#1-P Panoz LMP-1 Roadster S/Ford) "I'm really upset with
some GT drivers. The car was really fantastic. I had some little
temperature problems at the start of my stint. Then I started to lose the
water, and the temperature just started rising. I tried to baby it, but it
was not enough."
At 2:29, car #3-GTS into the pits, right front tires only.
At 2:31, car #81-GT into the pits, driver change Hiskey.
At 2:29, car #56-GTS out of the race with a gearbox problem.
At 2:34, car #17-GT into the pits, fuel only.
At 2:39, car #43-P passes team mate #42-P for the lead.
At 2:40, car #25-GT into the pits, pushed behind the wall.
At 2:42, car #42-P passes team mate #43-P for the lead.
At 2:43, car #10-GT into the pits, fuel only.
At 2:44, white flag.
At 2:46, checkered flag with the #42-P and #43-P BMW V12 LMR cars crossing
line almost side by side, 0.269 seconds apart.
At 2:46, the #2-P car lost the left rear tire just as the car crossed the
start finish line.

WGGTS Quotes:
Divina Galica "I knew all along that if Cindi didn't finish lower than
eighth place, she would win the championship. I was just determined to win
the race and show people what I can do. I don't drive that often, I'm
still rusty, and these girls drive all the time. Plus, I'm an open-wheel
driver and these cars are sedans. I finally got the hang of driving these
things, it helped me win these last two races. If I had been able to start
the first race of the season, the outcome of the championship might have
been different. But I am not complaining. I am very proud of Cindi. She
and I are good friends. In fact, I called her last night about 7 and told
her not to take this so seriously, to just have fun. She said, 'What do
you mean so seriously?' But I knew she was upset over qualifying fourth
and worried it might keep her from winning the championship." (with Cindy
a close second all the way) "She was trying very hard to take the lead.
She wants to win -- a lot! -- and she wanted to win both the race and the
championship." (on her pass of Allison Duncan for the lead) "We went up to

(Turn) 5 on the first lap, she braked, and she left the door wide open for
me. I just slipped right through and couldn't believe Allison did it.
She's too good a driver to do that, so I kind of think it was cold brakes
or something. After I went past her I thought, 'Wow! Lucky me! That
doesn't happen too often.'" (on leading every lap) "I was killing them on
the straights and braking early going into the corners. By braking early,
I entered corners slower but was able to really accelerate out of them. In
trying to catch me, Cindy was entering the corners too fast and it slowed
her down coming out of them."

Cindi Lux "I don't think my feet have touched the ground yet. I don't
think this has sunk in. This is a special day for me and for the whole
series. I know the spotlight is on me now, but I don't want it all. All
these drivers deserve a share of it. I made a vow to myself to keep that
No. 4 (Galica) in my sight the entire race. Regardless of where she
finished I wanted to be on her bumper, and I was. I learned a whole new
element of patience and discipline today. I would have liked to have
passed Divina, but I just couldn't afford to take the chance." (on the
spin in front of her) "I think you could say I had a moment there. I had
to go right or left, and as it turned out I made the correct decision. It
would have been a terrible way to lose everything." (On the heel injury)
"My poor husband had to put up with me all week, trying to keep me on the
couch without me beating him with a crutch. It started to bother me in the
race and messed up my heel-and-toe (movements), but I wasn't going to let
it stop me. It has all winter to heal." (on her immediate future) "I'd
like to continue in the world of sports car racing. But I'm going to enjoy
this for the rest of the year. Then I hope this (championship) will help
get the ball rolling."

Milka Duno "For me, this (series) is very important. I want to continue;
it is a good opportunity for a woman. We wanted to go with the best, and I
think we are in a good way. I was to stay in place where the best
opportunity is for me. If there is opportunity in Europe, I would go
there. (But) my opportunity is in America now. And I like America."

Belinda Endress "I was a little disappointed after the race I had, but
after I got the (Most Improved Driver) award, I felt better."

Jennifer Tumminelli "I think I got up to fourth or fifth, but then the
throttle broke on the last lap."

Audrey Zavodsky (on the season) "It was great. The people were fun to race
with. The exposure we've gotten, it's been great."

Kiki Wolfkill (on her incident with Duno) "I was going down the inside and
Milka got on the inside. She turned the car sideways and I couldn't avoid
her. But it was a fun race."

Allison Duncan "I had a pretty solid second place going. Then the drive
belt broke, I lost the power steering, and the temperature shot up. It's
been an awesome series. The competition is fantastic."

Judy Ray "This is the first race I haven't finished. I've wrestled with
this car the past two races. My right rear tire is new and the other three
are old. It throws the whole thing off balance. It's been a great series.
I'm happy for the opportunity to get involved."

ALMS Quotes:
Ron Fellows: (#3-GTS Chevrolet Corvette C5-R) "It was an adventure. I've
made more mistakes here than I've made all year. We were better, though.
We're a distant third, but we know what we need to do."

Chris Kniefel: (#3-GTS Chevrolet Corvette C5-R) "A lot of things went
wrong, but nothing mechanical. It's a little disappointing. The car ran
terrific. We have to be proud of that. We'll see them at Daytona."

Bill Auberlen: (#43-P BMW V12 LMR) "No moment did we think we were out of
it. Joachim and his start was unbelievable, he ran great. We got really in
trouble on that first pit stop when we made the stop and didn't change
tires. We had a nice lead and then a full course caution came one lap
later. I thought 'What luck here!' Then the other car got to the front,
Joachim did a great job just hanging in there on the old tires and I got
in kind of far back and closed it a little bit and the team decided we'd
just finish in this order." (on the ALMS season) "How much better of a
season can you have? It's been since 1991 since I've won a race. I didn't
win a race this year & I hope we come back next year & win. You couldn't
do it with a better team or a better company."

Joachim Winkelhock: (#43-P BMW V12 LMR) "The race was quite good. I'm
really pleased. It was the first time for me this year that I did start.
So I had a really good start and I could follow more or less the Panoz.
The most important thing for us was to concentrate for the race to find a
good setup, the right tire choice, and finally I must say, it was the
right decision. Of course we had some bad luck when the pace car came out.
There we lost some time. Otherwise we could have won the race. I look
forward to next year and I hope to be back."